Kameron Kennemer:
Hello and welcome to episode two, Cybersecurity Insights 2023 on the ITcurio podcast. I’m your host, Kameron Kennemer, and today I am thrilled to introduce our special guest, Ahmed Ragab. Ahmed is a highly experienced professional in the field of cybersecurity. He is an adjunct professor and is currently developing a course aimed at helping individuals pursue careers in cybersecurity. Today, Ahmed will provide us with insights into his course Cybersecurity Insights 2023, and share his journey in the cybersecurity field. Welcome to the show, Ahmed.
Ahmed Ragab:
Thank you very much, Kameron. I’m genuinely excited to be here.
Kameron Kennemer :
Fantastic. Ahmed, your cybersecurity career has been quite impressive. Could you please share with me and our listeners how you initially entered this field and what sparked your interest in cybersecurity?
Ahmed Ragab:
Certainly, Kameron. I appreciate the opportunity. My journey began over 30 years ago when I was working for Ubernet advertising company in 1993. It was during that time that I connected our company to the internet and configured my first Cisco Firewall. It was an exhilarating experience. Prior to that, I was primarily involved in information technology, working on tasks like building servers, application servers, and file-sharing servers. Security was not a major concern until we connected to the internet. That’s when my journey into cybersecurity truly began.
Kameron Kennemer:
Your journey highlights the ever-evolving nature of cybersecurity, Ahmed. While security was not a significant concern back then, the landscape has dramatically changed. We now face new threats every day, making cybersecurity an exciting and dynamic field. Adaptation and continuous learning are crucial in this domain.
As an adjunct professor, you have extensive experience teaching cybersecurity. Could you tell us more about your teaching experience?
Ahmed Ragab:
Absolutely. Over the past 20 years, I have been a trusted advisor to numerous Fortune 500 companies, as well as small and medium-sized organizations. I have guided them on securing their systems and protecting themselves from various cyber attacks. Each day, I encounter different types of cyber threats that make headlines, such as ransomware attacks, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and wireless attacks, among others. I use this real-world experience to bring practical knowledge to the classroom and prepare my students for the challenges they will face in the workplace.
I have developed a process for helping my students who aspire to change careers. We reverse engineer job descriptions, such as those for entry-level security operations center positions. We analyze the required skills, which often include knowledge of firewalls, intrusion detection systems, intrusion prevention systems, data loss prevention, and security information management. I provide sample interview questions and answers for these positions, and then I outline the curriculum and topics we will cover. Some of my students mistakenly assume that I live an extravagant life in Beverly Hills, driving a Maserati and working for Robert Herjavec from Shark Tank. In jest, I clarify that I have a Honda, and in 2019, I couldn’t even afford a cup of coffee due to being a victim of the Capital One 2019 attack. I believe in using real-life scenarios and examples to illustrate different types of attacks, countermeasures, and the importance of cybersecurity in everyday life. Read the full article here…….
